BLE 2021 to pay tribute to Kelvyn Gardner with Colour for Kelvyn day

Brand Licensing Europe has paid tribute to licensing legend Kelvyn Gardner, who sadly passed away at the start of this year, by renaming License This! to the Kelvyn Gardner License This! Competition and nominating day two of BLE as Colour for Kelvyn day.

The Kelvyn Gardner License This! Competition has been helping brands and designers to break into the licensing industry for over a decade and applications for this year’s entries close on Monday October 11th. The competition final will take place in-person at BLE on Friday November 19th.

The second day of the BLE in-person event will be called Colour for Kelvyn day. Attendees are invited to wear bright colours in honour of Kelvyn’s love for eye-catching jackets and make a donation in his name to industry charity The Light Fund.

“Kelvyn was someone that I – and everyone else in the licensing industry – genuinely loved and truly admired,” said Anna Knight, VP of Licensing, Informa Markets.

“He chaired License This! from day one and was a massive advocate for making the sector accessible to everyone, particularly new blood with exciting ideas. He was so generous with his time – not only through the judging process – but also with the mentoring he offered the finalists and winners, that it seems only fitting it’s now known as the Kelvyn Gardner License This! Competition.

“Colour for Kelvyn day is obviously inspired by his love of a colourful jacket, which seemed to get more outrageous every year, and also by his advocacy of and support for The Light Fund; it’s a really special charity that Kelvyn was always keen to help.

“We also want to say a huge thank you to Kelvyn’s wife and children – Michelle, Regan and Eliot – for enabling us to honour him in this manner and for joining us at BLE this year to launch Colour for Kelvyn day on Thursday November 18th. I can’t wait to see the hall filled with a rainbow of colours in his memory.”